SKELETON: After injuring his leg so badly he couldn’t walk, John Farrow is on track for an inspiring comeback in his Olympic debut.

The 31-year-old trained on Monday ahead of his first race in the Men’s Skeleton on Day 7 and is aiming high.

“Top 10 would be quite amazing to me right now,” he said. 

“It would be one of my best. It’s within reach and it’s what I’m aiming for.”

Three years ago, two days out from beginning his first World Cup season, Farrow injured his leg in sprint training.  

The damage to the leg was so severe his left foot became paralysed. 

The Sydneysider said the injury still limits his driving ability. 

“I’ve got a little bit of movement back. It’s nowhere near where it needs to be,” he said. 

“I’m doing everything I can. My speed’s within the top three, but without that push it’s going to be hard.”

With his foot slowly improving, Farrow is aiming to have a lot more control over his driving by the 2018 Games in South Korea.  

“In four years I’d love to have my push back,” he said. 

Farrow's teammates Michelle Steele and Lucy Chaffer also trained at Sanki Sliding Centre on Monday, with their competition on Thursday. 

Chaffer is also making her Olympic debut in Sochi after missing out on selection for Vancouver in 2010.

27-year-old Steele is an Australian groundbreaker in the sport. She was the first Aussie to win a World Cup Skeleton medal with a silver at Nagano in 2007. She is also the first Australian woman to compete in Skeleton at the Olympics, with a 13^th placing in Torino in 2006.

Farrow said Steele could be heading for a podium finish. 

 “Michelle was awesome this morning, she’s right up there in the mix,” he said.

“As a team we’re all pretty good.”

All three trained on the Sochi track in November and according to Farrow it has become faster for the Games.

“In normal training it’s good to slide on. Today it had been really prepped nice and that gives us a lot more speed,” he said. 

German athlete Marion Thees agrees. 

“The track drives differently since last time we were sliding here. It has never been so fast,” she said.

Thees said gold in the Women’s event is likely to come down to a fight between US athlete Noelee Pikus-Pace and Elizabeth Yarnold of Great Britain, but there would be a tough fight for bronze. 

“A medal would be my dream. But there are so many strong competitors who have a chance to win a medal,” she said.

In the men’s event Farrow said Latvian Martins Dukurs was the clear favourite to go one better than his silver medal in Vancouver 2010. 

“He’s always quite good. He saves his push for race days so it’s really hard to tell,” he said. 

“The Russians are also in with a chance, you just never know with the home advantage.”

Skeleton is the only winter sport without a double Olympic gold medallist, with eight different athletes taking out the top prize.

Neither champion from Vancouver will defend their title in Sochi, with Canadian Jon Montgomery missing out on selection and Great Britain’s Amy Williams retiring. 

Dukurs and Russian Alexander Tretiakov are among the athletes who would make history if they win a medal in Russia. 

They can join Swiss Gregor Staehli and American John Heaton as the only competitors to win multiple Olympic medals in Skeleton.